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Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Today, I decided to delve into some vintage Dodgers memorabilia from my collection. Featured above is a 1904 Sporting News Supplement featuring the 1904 Brooklyn Superbas. This approximate 8.5" x 11" poster was inserted into the magazine for fans to pin up on the wall. Unfortunately, the Superbas (as the Dodgers were known back then) were horrible. They finished in 6th place that season - more than 40 games below .500.

As you can see, my copy is well worn. There are numerous pin holes and fading, but it still presents nicely. Click on the pic to embiggen.

In celebration of Black History Month, Compton Community Day will be held at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton. On top of that, numerous Baseball greats and dignitaries will be there. Below are the particulars.

Clayton was on ESPN this morning. See a video of the appearance below. The photo above was tweeted by his wife.

Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt is excited by what he sees. Kershaw, Guerra and Belisario did some pitching last week, while Chris Withrow and Pedro Baez become relievers.

"Clayton was great, outstanding," said Honeycutt. "But he was
outstanding his last three starts, so that wasn't a surprise. Shawn
Tolleson had a little back tightness, but he threw a 'pen. So did Josh
Wall and Javy Guerra, who isn't as far behind as I thought he'd be.
Belisario was there, he threw twice, looked real good."

As many of you already know, the MLB FanCave is back for a second season. Currently, there are 52 Baseball fan contestants remaining, and out of that number there are 3 verified Dodger fans vying for a chance to immerse themselves into the game. They will eventually whittle it down to a final 9 with the help of fans like you. Go here to see them all. Voting ends next week.

Since I am fanatically pro-Dodger, I thought it would be interesting to hear directly from those folks who want to represent us. Thankfully, the contestants had the same thing in mind. So, starting today til Friday, I will put up information about all 3 Dodger fans, and share some words they were kind enough to pass along.

First up is Huntington Beach native and super-Dodger-fan-man Thomas Aaron Roberts. See his FanCave voting here.

Above are his particulars, and below is my informal email interview provided in full. I asked the same question to all three contestants; with exception of the last one (which was meant to be a little fun).

Why should this Dodger fan trust you to represent the Dodger faithful at MLB's FanCave? What would you say are your Dodger fan bona fides?

I would love to have the support of Dodger fans everywhere. I'm a
True Blue believer when it comes to the Dodgers and truly feel that
there isn't a bigger fan of the Boys in Blue than me. I know the
players, the stats, the traditions and the history. But most of all, I
know the game itself. Every March, I drive to Arizona to watch 4 Dodger
Spring Training games and get a taste of the upcoming season. I write
for two blogs about the Dodgers and also have my own blog chronicling my
thoughts on the Dodgers. I bleed blue and will represent the Dodgers
with passion, knowledge, personality, respect and excitement. I've had
dinner with Tommy Lasorda, met Steve Garvey at the Hall of Fame, been
blown off by Kirk Gibson, retweeted by Jerry Hairston Jr., written
articles about Vin Scully, and drank beer with Jerry Sands (former
Dodger top prospect) Baseball is my heart and the Dodgers are my blood.

Please relay your greatest Dodger memory.

My greatest Dodger memory is actually a collection of them
that sort of form a single memory. I don't remember winning the '88
World Series (I was 3 at the time) but I do remember being in the stands
for walk-offs by Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Adrian Gonzalez and Dioner
Navaro. Walk-offs are always my favorite. They're incredible to
experience live, especially if it's a walk-off home run. They send
chills down your spine and make you cheer louder than ever. I also
remember being in the stands in 1995 when the Dodgers had to forfeit
because fans kept throwing give-away baseballs onto the field. But
that's a bad memory! Ha Ha!

Give me a rundown on the good, the bad and the ugly with the Dodger lineup/roster.

Oh man! Where to start? Well with all the off-season craziness, the
Dodgers are looking better than I've ever remembered. Our 1-6 batters
are, in my opinion, the most threatening in the league. There are some
"ifs" in there, though. If Crawford can attain his level of play from 3
years ago and Matt Kemp can kick Beast Mode into overdrive, then the
Dodgers are the for sure favorites for the NL West. Now there's been
some talk of whether to hit Mark Ellis first or second but for the
purpose of this let's say he's batting in the 2 hole. You then have
Crawford leading off, Ellis backing him up, Kemp hitting 3rd and Gonzo
batting cleanup. Now that's a scary 1st inning for any team. But it
doesn't stop there. Hanley is 5th and protected by Ethier swinging 6th.
It gets a little dicey after that. Cruz and AJ Ellis are variables. Luis
Cruz was wonderful for us last year but he's still unproven and
questions remain whether he'll be able to maintain his average. AJ Ellis
hitting 8th is always good because of his high on-base percentage which
means you rarely lead off an inning with the pitcher hitting but AJ
Ellis faltered after the All-Star break last year so it's still a
mystery if he'll be able to put up the same kind of numbers as 2012.

Our
pitching staff is lights out. Kershaw (who is interchangeable with
Verlader for the best hurler in the league) is followed by Cy-Young
winner and strikeout artist, Greinke. Then you get Beckett who is
transitioning from the very tough AL East to the much friendlier NL
West. If Billinglsey can come back at full strength, then that's one
hell of a #4 starter. You then have your choice of Ted Lilly, Chris
Capuano or Aaron Harang to fill in the #5 spot. All three pitchers had
an ERA of under 4 in 2012. The big question mark is Hyun-Jin Ryu and
where he'll fit in or if he'll even be able to transition to Major
League Baseball, having only played in Korea.

Our Bullpen is pretty
stacked as well but I still am a little weary with Brandon League as the
closer. Thankfully, we have Kenley Jansen to step in if League
blows one to many saves. Our bench is solid but could use a few more big
bats and our Farm isn't pretty good. The big X factor is injuries. If
the guys on the 25-man roster can stay healthy, then we're sitting
pretty.

Here is an extra question for you. Will you promise to wear the Dodger cape in cave, if you were to make it, as often as possible (meaning, all of the time)?

ABSOLUTELY! Not only am I a Baseball fanatic, I'm also a huge Comic Book Nerd. The Cape is an integral part of my video, campaign, and me. Wearing a cape is right up my alley!

You have to watch his video to see what I mean. This guy sports a Dodger cape like a masked hero, and I am sure he could battle the likes of the pumpkin-faced evildoers from up north. Go here to vote for Thomas Aaron Roberts.

I just love this photo. Featured here is a 35mm negative, claimed by the seller to have been taken by noted photographer Arthur Rickerby, of Ebbets Field in the midst of being torn down. The framing is incredible, as the backside of the Ebbets Field sign appears to overlook the ruins that once hosted the nations greatest Baseball heroes. The foreground consist of empty seats strewn about as if a giant child had invaded the premises and delighted in stacking and piling up the old hardware without a vestige of sympathy. The background is nothing but a desolate place.

The seller indicates that the photo negative dates to 1960. BTW, Arthur Rickerby started out as a UPI (former Acme Photos) photographer covering post-war Japan and Germany, while also covering sports. Soon, he would go freelance and work with LIFE Magazine to cover the Kennedy Administration. He is noted for his sports related work in covering the Yankees and football.